Private/Closed Tales of Ender Eye (Fairy Tail RP)

[Godjacob]

The group was quick to adjust as Marc was leading them to this restaurant as Viper led with Serebus following as Viper stayed close to Barry, Elaine and Eliza while Serebus stuck close to Sabrina.

Sabrina went ahead to ask Serebus about how she had been when it came to adjusting to life in the guild. Serebus had to think about this, not because she lacked an answer to say but rather how she wanted to word the answer to the Doll-Attack mage and soon enough was able to organize her thoughts.

"W-well, it has been nice. Viper has been there for me since day one, Ara is like the big sister I never had and I was glad to meet you. The guild itself has been nice to me, w-when we speak....I think my big issue is that I still feel like a stranger as I haven't really broken out of my shy box to go speak to more people." Serebus confessed to Sabrina as she indeed wanted her life to revolve more than just Ara or Viper but seemed still shy about expressing herself to build connection with the others.

Viper glanced back at Orion as he cracked that initial joke while the Poison Dragon Slayer remained blank-faced all the same.

"Perhaps, it is a calm atmosphere for one....though I am trying not to get too emotional given how important these games will be." Viper replied with a "joke" of his own about his oh so emotional state even if he tried to clarify his general point as being loose was good but being too loose could risk them becoming careless which he wanted to avoid at all costs.

 

[jade421]

Perona saw the group that went to go with Marc to get something to eat and given Fallon agreed to tag along she was quick to follow making certain to keep pace with Fallon. Though she had a curious thought as they walked along as she tried to get Marc's attention. "So this place you are picking out, what kind of food do they have?" Perona asked as she wanted to get a sense of what their menu had been so she could at least begin to think about what she wanted to order.

Like with most things Perona preferred to be prepared rather than walk in blind given Marc was the one who knew what to expect as opposed to anyone else.

 

[SS-I Never]

Marc looked behind himself, and noticed Perona. She asked him what kind of place they were headed to, and Marc simply smirked and smugly rubbed his nose. “I’m glad you asked,” Marc responded, “This place only has some of the best grub you can ever imagine!” And, as if on cue (because it was), Marc had finally led the group towards the restaurant he was talking about.

“Welcome to La Grande Delphine~!” Marcus exclaimed, in a foreign accent. The restaurant was a simple looking building, though it had a bunch of lights that made it stand out from any of the others in the area. The name of the restaurant shined the brightest of all the other lights. “I found La Grande Delphine when Cat and I traveled all around Fiore. This place is very fancy, so I don’t really know what to order ‘cause I can barely understand half of what’s on the menu,” Marc explained, “I just go with a steak, as that’s the most simple thing on the menu. Though, I thought since we’re in the Grand Magic Games, I could treat my fellow guild mates before the games. So please, order whatever your heart may desire. I’ll pay for the tab.”

Marc then led the group inside of the building, and once inside it was clear it was an entirely different atmosphere. Red and white candle lights shined throughout the entire restaurant. Tables were organized in a clear pattern with table clothes neatly put on them. Many of the customers dressed in formal wear, and seemed very posh. Unless any members of Ender Eye were dressed nicely, they stood out like a sore thumb. Marc definitely did. A waiter would then lead the group to their table, and Marc began to order his usual.

Meanwhile, at the garden outside of the castle, Ara and Cat enjoyed their stroll. Ara sighed as in relief, as she thought this was a perfect way to relax before the games. Cat, on the other hand, was really frigid.

The reason Cat brought Ara to the gardens was because Cat decided she wanted to confess her feelings to Ara tonight. Though, it seemed it was going to be more difficult than she assumed. She was really nervous of what might happen if she went through with it. After all, what would happen if Ara just rejected her? Or even worse, Ara says that she’s in love with another!? The thought of it made Cat quiver.

Ara was quick to break the silence, however, as she pointed at some flowers, and said, “Oh, look at these! They’re so pretty!” The flowers were light blue with white highlights and a yellow center with open petals. Though, Cat couldn’t focus on the flowers as her eyes were on Ara.

They’re not as pretty as you are, Ara. When Cat realized what she had thought she quickly became flustered. Agh! Cat!? Why would you think that!? It’s so cheesy! No way would she swoon by that! Little did Cat know, Ara was the type to be easily swoon, and that Ara noticed her flustered look. “Cat, are you alright?” Ara asked, “You look a little red.” Ara would get closer to examine Cat to see if she can find anything wrong.

“I’m fine!” Cat quickly responded, “Nothing to worry about!” She’s so close! Cat had no idea what to do.

 

[Godjacob]

Viper and Serebus watched as Marc revealed just the place they were gonna be eating at. A French restaurant by the name of La Grande Delphine which Marc himself seemed to not be too sure what it offered due to pronounciation issues though there had been steak which at least revealed something.

Irregardless, the pair walked inside as Marc led them to their table. And indeed the fashion difference was clear, something Viper had been used to given he often did a number of missions during his time as a rogue for hire that put him in high class society when he very much had not been. Serebus however was a bit more shy about the whole thing as she just tried to not appear as awkward in the presence of the wealthier capital members while they took their seats. However, once they scanned the menus oddly enough Serebus seemed more comfortable as the fancy French-style phrases which took Viper time to get used to seemed to be second nature to Serebus as she even conversed with a waitress in fluent French much to Viper's bewilderment.

"You....you speak French?" Viper asked as Serebus offered a shrug.

"When I was....part of those experiments, it was deemed important I be able to recognize and understand any language possible in such fashion that any mission in any section of this world would be simple to navigate. So I have well....ingrained experience." Serebus clarified, keeping her tone low as Viper understood enough. And given the circumstances, when he asked if Serebus could help him understand the menu the snake-girl nodded and pointed out what food was what. Which made ordering a much more tolerable measure.

 

[jade421]

Perona was quick to take a seat as they entered this French-styled restaurant as she glanced at the menu. Perona managed to maintain just enough strength to resist a comment which concerned Marc's lack of knowledge when it came to just what food had been here. Not that it mattered too much as she focused on what she wanted to have based on what words she could make out and the picture of the food next to it.

Naturally, she needed to have some bread. For a main course her eyes traced to the Soupe à l’oignon, which based on what she could read in the description was soup made with onion and beef stock, with what seemed to be croutons on the side and coated with some melted cheese. Perona would check the other items but she figured she had a winner in her eyes.

 

[Crimson Sun]

La Grande Delphine was quite the spectacle. It was a grand dining scene, most probably with a high price on it's courses and meals. There were mainly people dressed up for the occasional dining, with appropriate tuxedos and dressed. Meanwhile, there's a whole group of practical rugged mages that just made themselves a customer at their restaurant. Talk about standing out, but perhaps the group was too hungry to care for the eyes that were glancing upon them. Despite that, the staff treated them as every other customer, so at least there's decency in staffing.

Fallon eyes the menu displayed before him. It was all literally written in french, but at least the description of the meals were legible to him, so he decided to base his meal off of that. He peered at what Perona seemed to be looking at and he had completely no idea what she was looking at. Looks like he's on his own for this one. Then one word stood out to him: Ratatouille. Wasn't that from that one film made by that one popular production? Who knows, but he's getting that. "What are you deciding," Fallon asked Perona, seeing wanting to know what the latter had decided on.

Sabrina followed Serebus, who in which followed Viper, who was also tailing behind a few more mages. Sitting beside her practical best friend in Ender Eye at this point, Sabrina decided to go through the menu while letting Serebus and Viper converse, and maybe eavesdrop in as well, not that they're hiding anything in this conversation anyways. Though, Sabrina's head did snap upwards, away from the menu and towards Serebus, finding the latter having spoken fluent French. Mouth slightly agape and Viper astonished as well, Serebus explained how she understood and learned French. "Well," Sabrina started off slowly, her curiosity approaching. "What did you tell the waitress then?"

Angela led Brendan towards a table nearby their guild mates, but also enough so that there's seclusion between the two as well. "Marc really chose quite the restaurant," Angela said nonchalantly while examining the decor of the bistro. "It seems really expensive, I wonder if he actually made money to pay for the whole guild.": Her eyes darted back and forth on the menu, being quite indecisive with what she wanted. Something vegetarian preferably, but whatever would work for her. However that's not her concern right now. She's been eyeing the some of the desserts, but she's afraid that she won't be able to finish on her own. "Hey after the meal, do you want to share a dessert with me? I don't think I'd be able to finish it all on my own."

Orion sat himself beside Viper while the duo of Serebus and Sabrina had taken a seat polar opposite of the table beside each other. Orion watch in amusement watching the interaction between Serebus, Viper, and Sabrina. Not that he wasn't surprised himself, but he didn't question how the girl had learnt and understood the language as he understood some of the basic-basics of the french language among others as well. No where near Serebus' experience compared to his own. Letting the girls get along, Orion decided to make small talk with Viper, him being the back-up representatives for Ender Eye and one of Orion's closer male friends. "How you coping," Orion asked. "With potentially being able to participate within the Grand Magic Games and all that jazz? I'm personally quite nervous, filled with jitters, y'feel me?"

 

[Rhabby]

Brendan followed closely behind Angela before taking his seat, "Yeah, you're right. He sure does have good taste." Brendan commented, admiring the very elegant decor and overall atmosphere of the entire of the restaurant before taking a look at himself.
Man, I am severely under dressed for something like this... Oh I forgot! Brendan thought before abruptly getting out of his chair, "Give me one moment!" The blue-haired mage said with a sly grin as he turned a corner.

The light of the use of 'Requip' magic could be seen before Brendan turned the corner once more, this time wearing very nice, black dress shoes and pants along with an unbuttoned, sharp, black blazer with a deep blue, collared undershirt. "Sorry to keep you waiting, mademoiselle." Brendan said with a confident smirk before letting out a laugh and taking his seat once more.
"Sorry about that, I couldn't help myself considering the atmosphere here." The mage said, rubbing the back of his head before taking the menu and browsing through the seemingly endless options.
Brendan peered over the top of his menu at Angela as she asked him about desert, "Uh, sure," Brendan began, "that's probably a good idea any way." He finished, setting down his menu.

"Say, once we're done here, why don't we just head over to that garden you wanted to visit? I'm sure it'll be dark by the time we get out of here." Brendan suggested to the plant-mage.

 

[jade421]

It had taken a bit of time for Perona to think over what she wanted. Mostly to navigate the words on the menu using the context clues of words she did know with the picture, but just as she seemed to find something to focus on Fallon asked what she was having. "I am probably gonna go for the onion soup with a side of bread stick." Perona explained to her teammate as she glanced his direction as he seemed puzzled over the menu. Much like a majority of the guild including herself had, minus Serebus oddly enough. "Have you decided anything?" Perona asked Fallon.

 

[Godjacob]

Serebus glanced over to Sabrina as she asked what the conversation with the waitress had been about to which Serebus offered a smile to the Doll-Attack Mage.

"Oh, I was just asking if it was possible that I could change a side to one of a small salad for one of the dishes here." Serebus explained to Sabrina and even showed the main dish in question which had been the Coq au vin which was basically a chicken braised with mushroom, wine, salty pork onions and garlic.

Viper himself glanced over Orion who asked about his feelings being a sub and possibly getting a chance to compete in the Grand Magic Games. Viper glanced at the menu though his mind focused on that question as he raced to think of some answer or work his feelings out about it before he sighed to look Orion in the eye.

"It's been fine. Presuming we make it to the Top 8, and presuming Fairy Tail does the same...will be the first time I've seen the full guild my mother was a part of. Never competed on a stage like this, usually I was busy with odd end jobs...." Viper said, speaking with an assured tone though clearly something had been on his mind about this if his expression were any cue.

 

[Crimson Sun]

Angela heeded at Brendan's words. "That's sounds like a lovely idea." The Crocus garden is a lovely place, especially as a plant love and mage as Angela herself. She was definitely eager to take a peak at the magnificent abundance of plants the city has before them. However, "but shouldn't you rest up for the Grand Magic Games, it's tomorrow, you'll need it for the preliminaries after all." As much as she wanted to visit the garden, she loved the guild more. Call her biased or whatever, but she genuinely believes that Ender Eye has a solid chance of actually making it to the final 8 this year.

Fallon gave a simple nod towards Perona's question directed towards his meal choice. "I always saw it in the movie, but I'm getting myself a rat-ta-tool." Fallon said with confidence despite horribly butchering the word ratatouille. He kept going on though, paying no mind to his butchering or he was completely unaware of how much he may have offended to the French. "It seemed good in the film, so might as well try it for myself to see if it lives towards it's hype."

Sabrina eyes the choice Serebus had chosen and the word 'wine' pops up at her. Before the Doll-Play mage could continue, the waitress assisting Serebus went to her next. "Oh, I'll take an Escargot Forestiere," which was cooked snails paired with some peso, "and a side of Ceasar salad" After that was finished, the latter turned towards her friend ."Wine," Sabrina asked unsure of her contents. "Are you of age to be having wine? Aren't you like practically the same age as me? Is that even legal?"

Orion nodded, understanding Viper's situation. "I mean, it would definitely be an experience you won't be able to get all the time." Orion said, agreeing with the Poison Dragon Slayer's predicament. "Do you have any siblings you might go against in Fairy Tail? Like both you and Py-Thon moved out of the Fairy Tail guild, is there any one other than your mother that's in fairy Tail that you're particularly close to in the guild?"

 

[jade421]

"Makes enough sense, though I the name of it goes by a different pronunciation. It's ratatouille not rat-ta-tool." Perona corrected as being the bookworm she was she had always been quick to correct some questionable pronouns even if there had been a slight hiccup with the French lingo when it came to the dish names she was aware of ratatouille enough to know how to say it properly. Though the fact she knew it from the same movie Fallon mentioned rather than a book was something that she'd keep to herself naturally. Either way seemed they were ready to order as Perona scanned the table to see who else was ready and who needed more time.

 

[Godjacob]

"I mean it is just a part of an ingredient for cooking. I think, not like I am drinking any. The waitress seemed sure it was safe and really being a snake mage I can handle dealing with questionable toxins so long as it is just a minor part of the dish and not the whole thing." Serebus replied back to Sabrina with a shrug.

As Orion mentioned this, Viper thought long and hard and after a while he merely offered a shrug. "I didn't even know Py-Ton was in my life until I met him, there is a lot I was kept in the dark about. I have no idea what my mother's story was as I never got to hear it from her in full before she left. I had encounters with a pair of their next gen mages, they are strong if that sample is anything to go by though have no family relation to me I believe." Viper said as he gave his best answer to the situation with his face scrunched slightly as clearly the lack of answers bothered him to some degree though he tried to relax his face even somewhat.

 

[Rhabby]

Brendan let out a slight smile at Angela's words, she was always so thoughtful and kind, especially toward the guild. She always put them before her own desires, which was truly an amazing quality, in Brendan's opinion at least.
"That's true I guess, but I'm sure we'd be able to visit it and still return back at a reasonable time. Plus, a little lack of sleep never hurt anyone." Brendan said with a grin, mindlessly tracing his finger around the edges of his cup.

Though the mention of the prelims did spark a bit of curiosity in the blue-haired mage, "Say, you've been S-Class for a long while." Brendan began, "Has Ender Eye ever actually competed in the Grand Magic games and placed well?" Brendan asked Angela, with curiosity. He had been in the guild for quite some time now, but he himself hadn't really heard any mention of the games from other guildmates.

 

[Gamefreak1996]

Cyrus and Jeanne had simply strolled down the streets of Crocus to see the sights and get to know the city better. They had no idea of what to expect. They thought this would just be another prep day before the games began in earnest. But then, a certain voice called out to them.

"Oi! Cyrus! Jeanne!" it called out, followed by the sound of footsteps and...clanking? Upon turning around, they saw a boy their age with a satchel and long length of pipe, white tank top, oil-stained beige pants, and a hat with goggles that covered his pale blonde hair. Behind him was a tall, humanoid robot with a bulky torso and arms. "By the gods, is that really you?!"

"Remus! Epsilon!" Cyrus exclaimed. It had been too long since he had seen ANYONE from Shooting Star. "You're alive?!"

"Yeah, 'n so's everyone else! We're Shooting Star, after all! We never go out! What about you, did you make it alright?" Remus questioned.

"Yeah, we're fine!" Jeanne said, patting Epsilon's back as the robot hugged her. "What about the others? Duscha, Brandon, Kaiser-"

"They're all fine! All of them! Even Guildmaster Ryusei!" Remus said, glancing toward Cyrus.

"D-...Dad...?" Cyrus wondered out loud. Pretty much everyone knew what he would ask next.

"He's at the Port Inn, making reservations for the guild. You might still be able to-" Remus couldn't finish what he was about to say before Cyrus took off toward the town harbor.
-----
Meanwhile, Fabian and Fredrick were receiving much less of a warm welcome. Many recognized Fabian from the wanted posters, and Fredrick from the stories from Opium. Guards raised their weapons as they approached, only to lower them again when they passed. People glared and muttered as the two "monsters" walked down the street, Fredrick looking annoyed at the attention.

"Can I just scare them off? It's not like I'd be stupid enough to hurt anyone." he muttered to Fabian.

"Just ignore them, and they'll get bored of us." Fabian assured.

 

[SS-I Never]

Ara and Cat kept strolling at the garden outside of the castle, and Cat was still as nervous as ever. She had yet to confess her feelings for Ara, and it was starting to get to her. I don’t think I can do it! I’m too scared of what she might say! Why did I ever do this!?

Cat then stopped in her tracks, as she bumped into Ara. Cat excused herself, but she noticed that Ara was focused on something. Cat looked on and noticed the full moon shining in the night.

“The moon is so pretty tonight,” Ara said as she gleefully glazed at the orb in the sky. “It really is,” Cat responded. Cat then clenched her fist, as she turned to Ara and said, “Ara! There is something I’ve been meaning to tell you. I-“

A big giant screen then appeared right before Ara and Cat, and showed a little person wearing a pumpkin head and a red coat. “Hello everyone! It is my pleasure to announce that the Grand Magic Games will begin quite soon! As you may all know, it is an event in which wizard guilds across Fiore compete for the spot as the number one wizard guild of the nation!”

Little did Ara and Cat know, these massive screens were spread throughout the entirety of the capital city. Even inside public domains, like the restaurant Marcus and the rest were in so they saw the message being played out for them.

“This year around, we’re doing things a little different!” The pumpkin man announced, “Because we’re starting the preliminaries right now! Good luck, wizards!”

Ara then looked down and noticed her guild mark began to glow brightly, and so did anyone’s who was participating in the games. Then out of nowhere, she disappeared from sight. Eventually, all the wizards participating in the games would disappear as well. Cat was left alone. I...I couldn’t confess to her in time.

Ara then appeared in what appeared to be a stone maze, and in her hand a sapphire. Other wizards would then appear before her. Each carrying a stone as well.

 

[Godjacob]

"So have you decided what you are gonna get?" Elaine asked Eliza as the Thunder Dragon Slayer scanned her menu a bit as others broke off into their own conversations as she worked to figure out each word and finally felt she was ready.

"Yeah, I think I am." Eliza said, as the waitress would come over and ask for their orders. Soon enough, people would give their orders and enjoy a nice meal at the capital under the flair and comforting atmosphere that would soon enough give way to a competitive one from the games themselves.

Later that evening. ​

Hello everyone! It is my pleasure to announce that the Grand Magic Games will begin quite soon! As you may all know, it is an event in which wizard guilds across Fiore compete for the spot as the number one wizard guild of the nation!

The announcement was heard on those who had been viewing screens, and while Eliza got comfortable for the competition she assumed began tomorrow she got a rude wake up call as before long her Guild Mark shinned and in the next she vanished in thin air. Much to Elaine's bewilderment as she had sat on a bed across from her in their room.

"Uh....Eliza?'"

Eliza found herself in what seemed to be the entrance to some large mage, with dozens of not hundreds of other wizards appearing in succession and it had not been long before she noticed Ara in kind.

"A-ara? What is this? Are we really starting now?" Eliza asked as she moved by the ice & water mage hoping she had some clarification.

 

[SS-I Never]

"I’m just as confused as you are,” Ara responded, “I was out with Cat when I disappeared all of a sudden. I’m guessing all the mages wanting to participate in the games will find themselves here soon, no matter where they are at the moment.”

When Ara said that, many mages could be seen wearing idle sleep attire, and some looking as if they were ready to take a bath and only had a towel to cover themselves.

 

[Crimson Sun]

"That meal was great," Orion said aloud to Viper. The Celestial Spirit mage decided to accompany the Poison Dragon Slayer for no particular reason except to socialize he supposed. Cerebus was about of his gate once again, following beside Orion as it enjoyed being in others' company. Orion was about to talk more, knowing Viper really wasn't much of an active talker until he heard an announcement that played throughout the streets of Crocus.

“Hello everyone! It is my pleasure to announce that the Grand Magic Games will begin quite soon! As you may all know, it is an event in which wizard guilds across Fiore compete for the spot as the number one wizard guild of the nation!”

"It's starting already?," Orion asked in bewilderment before seeing a glow on his guild mark under his white shirt on his abdomen before disappearing from the streets and reappearing right besides Eliza and Ara, who seemed equally as bewildered. In the distance, more glowing were happening as mages and wizards appeared before the maze. Some holding what appeared to be a gem of sorts. Orion examined seeing Ara held one of her own.

"Any guesses on what's the preliminaries are this year?"

 

[Rhabby]

Brendan had obviously accompanied Angela after their meal together, "Man, that sure was good." The blue-haired mage said with a satisfied sigh, "What did you think?" Brendan asked Angela, though before she could respond, the wonderful voice of the mascot of the Grand Magic Games could be heard from the streets of Crocus.

“Hello everyone! It is my pleasure to announce that the Grand Magic Games will begin quite soon! As you may all know, it is an event in which wizard guilds across Fiore compete for the spot as the number one wizard guild of the nation!”

"What?" Brendan asked with a puzzled expression, "I thought it wasn't supposed to start until tomorrow." The teen mage said before noticing something strange. His right shoulder where his guild mark lied was glowing so brightly it could be seen through his clothing. "Huh. That's strange." Brendan said before disappearing right before Angela's eyes and reappearing right next to his fellow guildmates.
"That was the weirdest feeling ever." Brendan said with a bewildered expression before glancing from Orion, to Eliza, then to Ara and her strange gem, and finally up to extremely large maze that stood in front of them.

 

[jade421]

Savannah had been glued to the TV the entire day, even if it was most just pre-match speculations and some fluff to fill air time before the games were set to begin. Most had prepared to hit the hey or simply for some late night antics as one member tapped Savannah on the shoulder. "Savannah, it is getting late. I seriously doubt you are gonna miss much at midnight on a 24 hour broadcast. The games probably start in the morning like every year." The mage said as Savannah let out a sigh. She supposed he had a point and...

"Hello everyone! It is my pleasure to announce that the Grand Magic Games will begin quite soon! As you may all know, it is an event in which wizard guilds across Fiore compete for the spot as the number one wizard guild of the nation!"
​

"EVERYONE GET AROUND IT IS STARTING!" Savannah called out as the camera cut to the entrance of what seemed to be a giant labyrinth as mages were being transported over. Dozens, hundreds were being gathered as Savannah sat with worry and eager anticipation as her treasure companions gathered about.

 

[Grand Master Koop]

Barry had been out on a stroll around the festive town. "Hmm, It should be almost time for the summon. Then again the time is random each year so no one knows when it will happen." He said to himself regarding the start of the tournament. The night was just as busy as the day, the streets was filled with tourists who came from all over to watch the yearly event. The night sky was mostly lit as the lights of the different stalls and shops illuminated the air. Barry was visibly pleased by this amazing display, despite his usual reclusive nature.

“Hello everyone! It is my pleasure to announce that the Grand Magic Games will begin quite soon! As you may all know, it is an event in which wizard guilds across Fiore compete for the spot as the number one wizard guild of the nation!”

At the sudden message called out by a certain event mascot, Barry quickly turned to look at his glowing guild mark. "Oh, so its finally time for it." He said to himself before quickly disappearing in a flash of light.

The Dragon Slayer reappeared inside the walls of the maze, the location where the preliminary would take place. "Hah, that still doesn't get old." He commented on the magic warping. Barry took a look around and saw that everyone else were also there already. "Oh, I see everyone is here." He said in a casual tone.

 

[Godjacob]

"So what, are we supposed to cross a maze or something?" Eliza asked aloud, as more of her Ender Eye companions appeared out of thin air here as she presumed the contestants of the guilds were being gathered for the opening event. Now she was eager to get going even if the arrival had been without warning as her competitive side began to shine though.

----------
Viper had heard wind of the announcement and in the room he and Serebus shared he quickly flipped on the TV to get a view of the action as the preliminary event was set to begin.

---------
"Place your bets! Place your bets who will the top 8 be vote now and if you try to change you get kicked out!"

The midnight rush was real as Zara and everyone at the bar watched the preliminary event which was about to begin as bets were being made before it began and Zara looked on. Silently giving her support to Viper, his friends and especially Ara for the trial that was to come certain they could make the cut.

 

[Crimson Sun]

"Welcome," a voice appeared from nowhere. A giant screen appeared in the center of the arena where most of the contestants could see the pumpkin head announcer. "You all may recall the Sky Labyrinth we did a few years ago, this time, we did another labyrinth but with a twist. The main objective of the preliminary is: Get to the goal with both jewels in hand, a ruby and a sapphire. Be careful, some jewels won't pass and are randomly dispresed between the teams. Only the first 8 teams that make it to the end with both a ruby and a sapphire in hand with all their members will be able to pass. May the preliminaries begin!" The pumpkin cheered with a small jump onscreen before the giant lacrima vision dispersed. In it's place a countdown could be seen, counting down from 5.

As son as the number reached 0, a "go" was read on screen and all the guilds were off. Eyeing the jewel in Ara's hand, Orion notices it was a light blue stone, a sapphire more specifically. How lucky of them. "Well, Ara already got a sapphire, which must mean that we need to fight for a ruby from another team." Orion eyed the teams, who are already running off into the maze, some already fighting at the start of the maze to gain both jewels to begin with.

A random mage came up to the Ender Eye group, attempting to steal their sapphire and replace it with an emerald in their hands. Orion took notice towards the stranger, a requiped a Nightmare Scythe in hand, and slashed away at the male mage with some shadow magic to stay back from the team. "We should start moving and getting to the end quickly guys.”

 

[Godjacob]

The word "go" had not even sounded off for two seconds and already some chaos broke out all around. Many guilds quickly shot to the labyrinth entrance while others began to fight with each other to get the jewels from other teams. It was a full on brawl and everything had gone to hell in a hurry.

Which only made Eliza smirk.

A pair of mages from one of the smaller guilds tried to jump her from behind, and all they got was consecutive Thunder Dragon kicks for good measure as they had been sent flying back. Eliza quickly heard Orion's call to quickly move to the labyrinth which Eliza seemed okay with.

"All right. Let me clear a path. Thunder Dragon Scales!" Eliza said as she jumped up and fired several electric scales ahead; which forced mages to jump out of the way in the middle of their brawl or simply be blasted away if unaware as a path to the entrance was made for the group as Eliza motioned for the others to follow her lead.

 

[jade421]

And with that, the Grand Magic Games had officially began. Well least the big qualifier as the rules were explained to those watching at the capitol, from across Fiore at home or the contestants themselves. And soon enough the Maze race began and instantly chaos spread as dozens of guilds either ran inside or began to fight each other outside to try and steal those crystals. It was hard to get all the action at once for those filming it but one would be damned if they didn't give it their best effort.

"Oh man things are getting crazy already!

"I don't envy the camera guys for this jo..."

"KICK THEIRS ASSES GUYS!"​

And as Savannah cheered on, clearly the treasure guild of the desert was into the action as naturally she had her eyes on one team in particular as she would cheer on Ender Eye through thick and thin.

 

[Gamefreak1996]

"Jeez, and I was expecting to get comfortable before we began." Fabian chuckled as he and Fredrick approached Sabrina, watching the action. Neither had joined the games since Fredrick didn't want to cause mass panic, and Fabian didn't feel quite ready to get out of his "low profile" status just yet. He would wait a little longer before partaking in government affairs.

----------

Meanwhile, Port Town's inn doors were flung open as Cyrus screeched to a halt, looking at the man in the Jingasa hat before him; Ryusei Azroth, his long-thought-dead father. Needless to say, It was a long, awkward moment before Ryusei recovered from his shock and finally spoke. "Okay, I know you're probably going to be mad at m-" he began, but he was cut off when his son's fist collided with his cheek, sending him flying back.

"I thought you were dead! I thought ALL of you were dead!! How could you leave me in the dark like that?!" He shouted, tears filling his eyes. "Why couldn't you let us know, after all this time, you were alright?!"

"I was afraid, son. Afraid that the monster that almost took my life would come after you." Ryusei said, standing up. He then felt a pair of arms wrap around him.

"Damn it, Dad...Don't scare me like that again..." he heard his son's cracked voice say. Ryusei simply nodded, wrapping an arm around Cyrus to comfort him.

----------

"It seems the games have begun." Duscha said, looking at her teammates; Among them was the gunslinger Remus Willows, the Mechanical Mage, Epsilon, The Celestial Spirit weilder, Winston Corpeus, the Guild's second-in-command, Brandon Azroth, and the Mizutsune sisters, Sakuya and Konohana, who used Petal and Paper magic respectively. She observed the ruby in her hand.

"We can see that, Duscha." Winston replied dryly, before looking to Brandon.

"Well, I can't say I was expecting this, but it might just work in our favor." Brandon said, chuckling as he adjusted his gauntlets. "Let's show them that the Shooting Star guild can still shine brighter than the rest of them!"

"Right!" The other members replied (except Epsilon, who simply gave a thumbs-up).

 

[jade421]

"Well that didn't take long." Brendan mused as the chaos of the opening bell had led to mass fighting or a mad dash for the maze. And it seemed that Ender Eye were to adopt the latter strategy as Eliza quickly worked to clear a path for the guild. Brendan would be mindful of possible attackers in the flanks, but was quick to follow the path the Thunder Dragon Slayer opened up to head to the maze. One thing was fur sure this was

~~~~~~~~~~

"Damn it...out of my way!" Miranda yelled out, as she summoned a magically generated mirror to block and reflect a fire blast back at an attacking mage as it seemed everything went to hell. Miranda knew they needed to get to the maze and tried to round up her guild. "Alright as much fun as messing around with these crazed mages sounds I'd rather preserve my outfit for as long as I can. So we need to get moving and get moving now!"

 

[Godjacob]

As the guilds battled each other or raced to the maze, a young woman calmly reached for the hilt of her blade and pulled out her swords as she looked on the scene ahead of her as she seemed to stand with other mages of an all female guild. A mage tried a sneak attack as he jumped from behind towards her.

"You are open!"

Slash!

Within a seamless motion, one magic slash quelled this surprise attack as the mage was launched into the crowd with a thud as the sword specialist Adrianna looked upon the seen as the aftershock of her magic slash opened up a path that knocked other mages aside; unknowingly she had mirrored a strategy of another mage guild. None the less she turned to her allies in Mermaid Heel.

"Let us not linger, advance to the maze now."

 

[Crimson Sun]

Orion followed in the maze after Brendan, peering back to ensure the rest of the team were to follow in suite, or potentially be left out at the practical war zone at the entrance. Some other guild mages were closing in on the group from ahead, which Orion quickly took care of. The blonde mage quickly requiped out of his Nightmare Scythe in order to exchange it for his Infernos Wand, thanks to his spirit Vesta as this was one of the more effective ranged weapons Orion held in his arsenal.

Lifting the wand outward and above his head, Orion let out a burst of flames from the red orb attached to it's end. The flames seared away most of the enemies. Some of them held jewels, which was idiotic of them, as the jewel holders should be playing more defensively rather than offensively. The celestial spirit collected 3 of them as Team Ender Eye continued to forage through the maze. Unfortunately for him, the rules state the crystals that were needed were a Ruby and a Sapphire. In Orion's hands held an Opal. Diamond, and another Sapphire. How unlucky.

Orion held onto the second Sapphire, just in case they may lose their original Sapphire while discarding the unneeded gemstones. "We need someone to lead the group," Orion called out to the team. "While the rest of us are going to be busy fighting through, we need someone to lead and we'll follow right behind you."
-----------
"And I oop," Aria said in awe behind Adrianna as the group leader make quick work of the enemies around them. The crystal caster followed the swordswoman into the mage as the rest of the team is presumably following haste. "Defense of Diamond," Aria chanted out quickly as a flamethrower came their way. A shimmering blue gemstone cover appeared out of thin air, protecting Mermaid Heel from potential damage. "So, uh, anyways, what gem stone did we have anyways," Aria asked one of her teammates who held the gemstone.

"The rules required a Ruby and a Sapphire," a girl with an ombre blonde and brown hair said. "Some weren't so lucky with the selection, so they’d have to find the correct gemstones.” She sensed specks of magic coming off the side of the team. "Earth God's Bellow," Hermoine called out as a raging steam of rubble shot out of her mouth, aimed towards the enemy mages to the right of the group.
-----------
A team, knocked out unconscious, laid on the floor, near the entrance of the maze. A shining gold hue surrounded the culprit as a Ruby was held in his left hand. "Alright Lamia Scale, we got 1 of the 2 gemstones. We got to move out and find the other," Lucifer called out to his team. Finding more enemies running away from him, Lucifer took the halo from his Take-Over: Angel Soul and threw it at the enemies. The yellow ring grew in size and expanded around the foes and quickly bound them together as the yellow ring grew tighter every time they moved. Lucifer carefully pick-pocketed each victim, returning with nothing at hand. "Nothing on them, lets move in the maze to keep searching."

 

[Godjacob]

Orion made his call that somebody had to take some sort of leadership role as they advanced to the maze. Eliza managed to catch this even as her eyes focused on any mages who may have tried to attack during this. Eliza paused to think this over as in truth she was never the most "leader" like person and really Eliza had not been in as many missions with the others present. But still...

"I mean, who do you think is the best candidate? I'm pretty good at shocking problems away and open to anything but we should probably agree on the best leader choice." Eliza replied to Orion as she provided her two cents on the situation.

---------
"Uh uhh...l-let me look and...eep!"

Cascade, the one who had volunteered to carry the crystal for the team, attempted to explain which one they have as they used the path that Adrianna had cleared for them only for what seemed to be magic arrows to sail past them to the left. The scared mage responded quickly as she slammed a palm to the ground as a red demonic seal appeared below her on the ground.

"Demonic Conjuring: Gallmeth!"

From the seal a demonic entity appeared before the area. Its skin was grey with emerald green eyes and what seemed to be one arm that was longer & bigger than the other on top of sharpened claws and teeth. The demonic-like Gallmeth was called forth and quickly he sprang to action. With one mighty swing the large hand slammed into the ground which caused a rumble as a shockwave blasted in the direction of the archer and knocked them back. Gallmeth would stand guard as they advanced as Cascade fumbled the crystal in her hands for inspection.

"R-ruby! We got a Ruby crystal." She said, speaking with a tone only her team would hear as she hid it quickly.

 

[jade421]

~~~~~Ender Eye~~~~~​

Brendan listened in as the discussion was made over who should be a leader among the party. This was a bit awkward as truth be told this group never really relied on a leader per say as they usually operated as one or just went with the flow on things. Brendan himself had not considered himself much of a leader but given he had a recent promotion to S-Class he wondered if it was expected he'd assume such a role? Well Brendan decided to go with his honest answer as he figured an understanding of what his own limits were had to be part of leadership.

"I don't know, between Ara or you Orion we usually call that the closest we have to a leader. Am I wrong?" Brendan asked aloud to the group.

~~~~~Lamia Scale~~~~~​

Zora had just finished using some rocks as projectiles; her Gravity Magic able to lift them up with ease as it appeared the team they beat lacked the other gemstone they needed. Zora understood enough and followed Lucifer as she began to use some sign language to speak towards him. "Would it be wise to split and search? Might make it easier to find a team with the right stone."

~~~~~Blue Pegasus~~~~~​

Miranda would lead Blue Pegasus inside the maze as they quickly shifted down the tunnel to the left while they were mindful to keep an eye on other teams; both to protect against as well as possible targets to take out. Miranda was thankful she modified her high heels to be able to retract and become flat as it made movement easier. Behind her the rather impressively built Titus was right behind her as he seemed displeased with their mad dash. "Why did we run inside here? We could have taken out a team outside and entered with two gemstones. This method just seems a bit on the wimpy side." Titus complained, as in Miranda's mind he was a manly man who wanted to prove how manly he was and show his manpower over the others in this contest. She rolled her eyes, however much of a stereotype she probably made that out to be in her head before she replied. "Because in the chaos outside we could very easily be attacked right after we get another gemstone or pinned by a couple guilds. Least here we can scout and pick our own fight."

 

[Godjacob]

"Hey if it means we are not stuck in that hell that is the outside of the maze I have no complaints. Though we need an actual plan rather than merely talking about a plan. I didn't come her to be booted out day one, there is so much wonder and so many wonderful women I've yet to properly meet here!" Evan said, as he managed to combine both a reasonable assessment of what they needed to do on top of his well...

...his, personal motivations that had been his drive to make the cut for the true games.

 

[jade421]

Savannah in turn had watched the action with great focus, though there was an issue she had come to discover. Given that there had been literally hundreds of Guilds competing that meant the view of the magic projectors had to split between several POVs at once which if one cared only for one guild like Savannah had for Ender Eye created quite the annoying experience. "Come on come on but back to Ender Eye's area. Why are there three angles of Fairy Tail's section!?"

The other members of the guild had a fair chuckle at this as the POV shifted back to Ender Eye as they made their entrance to the labyrinth.

 

[Crimson Sun]

"I would agree," Lucifer quickly replied to Zora's suggestion. "However, I see the stone that we needed right over there." Lucifer quickly threw a reformed halo towards the direction he placed his sights on.

"I can lead us," the Fullbuster daughter called out as she finished freezing some mages out of their path. The ice mage pushed forward ahead of the group, weaving through mages while the rest followed in pursuit. Ara immediately made the task a tad bit easier by encasing the flooring in ice, with the exception of the path she was leading Ender Eye through. Many mages started slipping up while Ender Eye easily passed through the pathway, keeping eyes out for a Ruby for them to snag.

Orion burned another mage that came towards them trying to steal their Sapphire. The flooring was advantageous momentarily as many mages were able to bypass the obstacle with simple Fire Magic or using other sorts of magic to maneuver around the ice. One random mage was almost able to snag the second Sapphire Orion has held in his pocket with some quick air magic. With a flashy flamethrower, the mage quickly let go the back-up Sapphire and dropped it which the celestial mage was able to put back into his hand.

A blinding light came out of nowhere and suddenly Orion felt himself being bound, his flame wand disappearing into the other realm. As soon as the light deceased, the Celestial Mage found himself staring into the face of a familiar mage. "Well, if it isn't Orion from Ender Eye, wasn't it?"

Lucifer tapped the halo binding Orion, which grew even tighter. Orion, struggling from the bound of the halo accidentally let go the second Sapphire, which the Take-Over Angel got quick hold of. There goes the back-up Sapphire, good thing Ara still got the one. "Thank you for your cooperation Orion, just the gemstone we needed." Orion's eyes widened as he quickly realized Lamia Scale had the ruby they were looking for.

Struggling to inhale and exhale, Orion let out a call to his teammates. "Guys, they've got a Ruby!"

Ara stopped in her tracks, and turned around seeing Orion dealing with an enemy team. She heard him call out that they have a ruby. Perfect. "Water Slicer!" Ara threw out sharp cuts of water at Orion's binds, which dissipated the halo, freeing the Celestial Mage. As soon as Orion dropped to the floor, he quickly recovered. "I know these guys, the Angel Mage along with the 4 others below him is Lamia Scale," Orion informed quickly. "And one of them's got the Ruby."

 

[Godjacob]

Eliza had also been made aware of the arrival of the group, actually she had heard their arrival with her Slayer enhanced hearing and had already went to work as she scaled up the labyrinth wall and aimed to get around and behind Lucifer.

"Alright, time for the real fun to begin..." Eliza said with a sly smirk as she charged up electricity and had her sights set on Lucifer and prepared to unleash her strike. "Thunder Dragon Scales!"

"Volcanic Wall!"

However, as her thunder scales fired at Lucifer a sudden wall of volcanic magma raised from the ground which served to block the attack as they sliced through it but dispersed soon after as Eliza was soon met by a wave of lava thar fired at her as she jump and landed by her team as she tried to eye who it was.

"Seems we got some company. Those Ender Eye guys from before huh....interesting." Magnus said as the volcanic Mage revealed himself among the group as both teams faced off as Eliza prepared her electricity as she charged up once more.

 

[Crimson Sun]

"Open, Gate of the White Lamb, Aries!"

Appeared before the Fairy Tail Celestial Spirit user was a spirit that looked in her early teenage years with hot pink hair that reaches down to her lower back and a pair of golden ram horns that are beside her head. Some accessories the spirit held were chains as a choker, a pair of pink shades and golden earrings.

"Ahahah! Who am I to beat up now Lucas," Eclipse Aries asked the Heartfillia son, who only shook his head at his spirit's demeanor.

"Block off the other mages from coming towards us. We need to traverse through the maze," Lucas called out to the pink haired spirit in question. With immediate beck-and-call, Aries fired off an array of horn blast towards the enemy mages. "Golden Horn Bomber!"

“Sun Dragon’s Scorching Hammer,” a voice called out, taking out the enemies Aries was aiming for before the spirit could.

“Hey, what the heck! They were mine,” Aries complained.

“It’s not a competition on who gets the most defeats Nashi,” Lucas called out to his younger, more pink haired, sister. “We just need to find a Ruby and go.”

“Oh, I already got the Ruby,” Nashi said dumbfoundedly. “Aspen and Grey already got the Sapphire too.”

“Then why are you still beating up other mages,” Lucas said shocked and exasperated at his sister’s antics. “We need to find the exit now so we can qualify!”

“You’re no fun,” Nashi mumbled under her breath, but purposely loud enough for Lucas to hear. “Fighting is much more fun than som dumb maze.”

“Whatever,” Lucas said, ignoring her complaints. “Aries, continue clearing a pathway for us to move and navigate through.”

“Hehe, you got it,” Aries claimed with a crack of her knuckles.
————
Lucifer subtly threw the captured Sapphire back to his team. A sticky web shot out of nowhere from Lamia Scale to retrieve the ruby. The webbed up ruby hastily returned to the owner, which was no other than Elise. "We'll be keeping this thank you very much," Elise said with apparent glee on her face and her thick aussie accent shining through.

"Move out Lamia Scale," Lucifer called out to his teammates as they started running away with both the sapphire and ruby in hand. "Good luck on finding a ruby though!"

"Oh no you don't," Ara called out. "Ice Geyser!" On command, stalagmites of ice shot from the getaway path of the thieves. "We will be taking that Ruby thank you very much." Ara taunted, clearly mocking the spider mage. "Clearly, we don't need to find one when one of your latter is holding on to it."

Both teams held a Sapphire in their possession, but only one of them could take the Ruby. And that Ruby is going to be taken by Ender Eye. "Ice-Make: Lance!" A barrage of sharp icicles rushed out of the palms of Ara headed towards the Lamia mages.

"Web Shot," Elise chanted. With a cross of her arms, spider-like threads busheled out of her finger tips and intercepted each frozen lance with great accuracy. Ara could only click her tongue as the mage quickly shot down her attack.

“Requip: Golden Wing Armor,” Orion suddenly called out. His body glowed which soon after revealed his tunic and enhanced the latter’s speed immensely. Orion rushes up, both katanas in hand, with the intent of claiming the Ruby.

“Fallen Wing,” Lucifer called out as dark metallic wings grew out of his back and parried against Orion’s katanas. The katana and metallic wings collided with an audible clang. “Not so fast there angel, we intend on keeping this Ruby.”
————
“Earth God’s Tantrum!”

“Ruby Rebellion!”

Hermoine and Aria called out consecutively, each taking out a pair of mates on their own.

“Hey Hermoine, do you think my Ruby gems can trick the system that we have both gems,” Aria asked enthusiastically.

“No, all the given gems in the arena are embedded with a magical rune that only allows the specific gems to be accepted,” Hermoine casually explained, even in amidst of a battle. “Besides, Cascade’s already holding our Ruby, we need to find a Sapphire.”

“Riggghhht...,” Aria mumbled, not fully understanding, but catching glimpses of what Hermoine explained. “Hopefully we can get one soon!”
———-
“Let me see if I can phase through the walls,” a woman responded to Evan. She had pure white hair that was tied into a singular sleek braid. She wore a zebra print crop top along with skin tight leather pants and a pair of black stilettos. Shockingly, she was still able to run with ease with those inches.

Phantasia stepped through the wall, heel first and surprisingly, the walls allowed her to phase through. “Okay, I can phase through, but I’m pretty sure it’s much harder than that,” the ghost mage explained. “We probably need to arrive as a team with both gems. The best benefit with this,” the woman was saying as she gestured to herself phasing through the wall, “is that I can lead us through the maze, but that’s pretty much it.”

 

[jade421]

~~~~~Ender Eye~~~~~​

While Ara and Orion began to battle with Lucifer and this spider girl Elise respectively Brendan saw a chance to claim the Ruby as Ender Eye's own as he began to channel magic around his body.

"Metor!" Brendan muttered under his breath, and in a flash he shot forward as his was was to charge and try to snatch the Ruby in the hopes he'd be able to move faster than the other mages could react.

~~~~~Blue Pegasus~~~~~​

"Well glad someone has a plan." Miranda said as Phantasia seemed to display that she could phase through the walls which granted them greater mobility, and a bit of an x-factor. "Do you think you can ghost out and see if there is a team around us? If we know where they are and you report back we can launch a surprise attack and get the advantage." Miranda said, as she figured this would be the best course of action at this point. Being able to navigate the walls through them should have given them an edge in moving through the maze and eyeing potential targets. Even if the idea of even her astral form being made to move through these unkempt walls had made her green in the face.

 

[Gamefreak1996]

Someone had been listening in on Lucas, Aries, and Nashi's conversation. One of them nodded to his comrade. So, Fairy tail already has both, but it seems these three don't have the one we need. No need to go after them. He started to walk away, but his partner stopped him.

"Hang on a sec, Winston. Do you think maybe if we follow them, they'll lead us to their sapphire?" She whispered.

"I guess so, but there's only the two of us. If we're caught, it's gonna be tough to break away from a conflict." Winston considered. "You really want to try it?" Upon her nodding, he sighed and took out a ruby colored key. "Open, Gate of the Titan Wolf: Fenrir." He commanded. In a flash of light, a large anthropomorphic wolf was standing before him.

"I was wondering when you'd be calling me out, Winston." Fenrir said, looking to the member of Shooting Star. "Now who're we beatin' the crap out of this time?"

"No one. Not yet, anyways. They might lead us to their team's sapphire if we follow them." Winston explained in a hushed voice, looking around the corner.

"So you want me to track them, then...?" Fenrir inquired.

"Shouldn't be hard for you." Winston pointed out, keeping his eye on his targets. "It's just us, though, so we don't want to attract attention if we can help it."
--------------------

Duscha, meanwhile, moved through the maze with Brandon and Epsilon, looking to intercept a team with a sapphire somewhere. As she rushed forward, she got an idea. "Brandon, do you think we could funnel the candidates into coming our way by blocking their other paths?" she asked.

"I suppose it's worth a shot, assuming they don't bust through 'em all." Stopping the group, he rolled back his sleeves and adjusted the gauntlets over his fists as Duscha propped her knuckles.

"IRON MAKE: WALL!"

"STALAGMITE BARRICADE!"

As they channeled their energy throughout the maze, pathways would suddenly get closed off by walls of metal and barricades of stone spikes rising from the ground. This way, Shooting Star was closing off the options of their opponents, essentially guiding them to their location. Once they finished, Brandon nodded to the members with him, and they scattered to the openings leading into their spot, ready to ambush whoever came through.

 

[Godjacob]

As Brendan raced to get to the Ruby, before his first step had been taken a volcanic wall was raised around the stone as Magnus smirked at his little make-shift "wall" as he faced the speedy Branden.

"Not gonna be that easy! Volcanic Surge!" Magnus called out as he fired a stream of volcanic magical magma right at Brendan and tried to blast the Heavenly Body Mage away.

Eliza in turn jumped up and aimed to blast the other members of Lamia Scale as she fired several electric scales their way. The battle had been on and she was determined not to let Ender Eye lose it!

----------
"Are you really so shocked that she cares more about beating people than getting out of the maze?"

The voice of Grey Jr. spoke up as the latter had used his Water-Make to produce a staff that smacked the mage aside right across her cheek. His twin Aspen in turn blasted a pair of mages with snow magic which cleared a path and allowed them to secure the Sapphire Stone. They had what they needed now they simply needed to get out of here.

Though as they walked, Grey Jr. glanced back at Nashi. "F-for the record though, I took out more mages so far than you so..."

Aspen rolled the eyes on that one. Seemed petty rivalry carried on generations.

----------
Evan watched as Phantasia appeared through the wall as Miranda seemed to want to use her ability to help scout for teams and perhaps get a jump on them as they had a way to navigate the walls.

Seemed Miranda wasn't half bad at laying out a plan, when she wasn't focused on what outfit to wear.

"Right, so uh just for clarification can you phase us with you or are you the only one who can phase through a wall? Cause I want to not overwork you and of course not end up being fused into one of these walls by accident." Evan said with a sheepish rub of the head.

----------

I-I can't believe this, I really am here! I'm competing in the Grand Magic Games!
​

To say that Diane Genzet had been a bit star struck would have undersold it to a ludicrous degree. She along with the upstart Crimson Heart Guild had been moving into what seemed to be some sort of room with a divide; one that led to a trio of alternate paths and it had been here that the S-Class Mage Azalea decided to set up camp. The members included the aforementioned Diane along with her teammates Marcus Charibim, Jill Dredill, Tyler Vazeck and captained by S-Class Mage Azalea Cross; who seemed to quickly move her team into position as Diane had to snap out of her geek out mood and get to work.

The plan for them seemed simple, since this area seemed to be one that led to multiple paths, it was guessed teams would naturally have inclined to pass through here. While Marcus had been against such an ambush, as he preferred to hunt rather than sit and wait, it seemed reasonable enough least in the early going of this event.

So with that, Marcus used his Magma Dragon Slayer's magma claws to dig some holes int he ground, ones that had been quickly coated with a patch of sticky webbing as Tyler tapped into his Insect Soul to shift into his spider-form as he worked to spray several holes Marcus made as a thin layer of dirt was sprinkled over them to cover the holes as if they had just been part of the ground.

Diane and Jill meanwhile had worked on their own part of this little trap area. As Diane used her Crystal-Make to produce what seemed to be a few small trigger bows with some blunt tipped arrows loaded up. Jill in kind produced some magical threads and had some make-shift trip wires made by the opening areas which if tripped would trigger the arrows that Diane installed on the walls and ceiling which aimed to offer a surprise to whoever passed through here.

Once those were done, Azalea had her team move by her to a wall as she produced several magical flowers that worked to lightly cover them. Said flowers then seemed to begin to shift color to match the wall as a camouflage cover worked to hid their position as they waited for the first team to cross their path.

----------
"Then we should not waste time..."

Adrianna voice was heard as the swords-woman moved with a blinding speed; as she slashed at the enemies her fellow Guild Mates had blasted at as she aimed to dispose and knock them out quickly; striking with the blunt edge of her sword as to avoid any damage that could risk a fatality.

Cascade in turn watched as Gallmeth forced away anyone who tried to aid their attackers as the demon slammed with its large fist into the ground and a shockwave blasted to one of their flanks. Then another as it slammed again as Adrianna glanced at all the members of the Guild.

"....let's move out. The sooner we find the Sapphire Stone, the sooner we advance."

----------
As Sabertooth navigated the maze, they'd find a troubling pattern had seemed to emerge. A few key paths that they discovered seemed to be ever cut off by what appeared to be these magical walls that seemed to cut off areas to explore.

In a sense, it seemed they were almost being guided away from these paths somewhere. He had been certain of that much, or at least the White Dragon Slayer Anumi Eucliffe had himself. Whether this was a feature of the maze or the words of another team however, he had been less sure of. Arden meanwhile walked up to the wall that blocked them as her hand became acidic and worked to melt the obstacle before them.

"I can get past this quickly enough..." Arden said before she felt a hand on her shoulder as Anumi stopped her. "No, something or someone wants us to go a certain path. If we are limited in where we can go, others will be to. Which means we can find a team along the way."

Arden however had a reservation. "What if it is some trap and we land right into it?" She asked as Anumi moved ahead while he motioned for the Guild to follow. Though at that question Anumi paused as he turned his head to the Acid Mage.

"Then we know at least where to find one team."

----------
"N-no please we give up!"

A loud explosion followed a plea for mercy, as a pair of mages had been blasted by a powerful explosion and slammed into a wall as they fell; knocked out as the ever sadistic Phoenix Feather member Guildan seemed to almost take some sick pleasure in that pain. Though he seemed a bit single minded on the wrong objective here as a presence behind him pointed out.

"You know, we should make sure our targets have the right gem before we commit to an attack." Cole said, as a black fire seemed to die down as he walked away from a downed mage while Guildan scoffed.

"Isn't the point of these games bragging rights for the Guilds? I'm simply showing Phoenix Feather's might!" Guildan said as Cole pinched the bridge of his nose.

"That doesn't mean anything if we don't advance to the main games. Now we got a crystal to find so everyone move out."

 

[Crimson Sun]

(Note, I autoed Zora and Barry for a bit here)
---Ender Eye & Lamia Scale---
"Reform: Mechanical Cannon," a voice called out, further behind the Lamia Scale team. "Fire!" A single stream of yellow energy particles blasted from the Lamia Scale side towards Eliza, but not exactly so. The laser shot a single horizontal beam that would cross Eliza's path from coming any closer to the Ruby. Dropping in from above, a girl with a sailor uniform appeared in front of Eliza. "Reform: Shock Gauntlet," Mariah called out. Her held weapon, previously as a cannon, quickly detached it's mechanical parts and rebuilt itself around Mariah's hands, encasing it with a metal gauntlet. Though the name shock gauntlet sounds like it would emit electricity, the shock gauntlet is mainly used as a conductor, for electrical absorption. With a quick posture, Mariah came in with a strong right hook towards Eliza. If it hits, it should make the foe stunned for a bit due to the impact of the gauntlet.

Breaking up from Lucifer and his fallen angel wings, Orion backed up and took hold of one of his diamond keys. "Open, Gate of the Divine Herald: Mercury," Orion summoned, revealing the toga wearing spirit, with the wings on his shoes and helmet keeping him in flight. "Get the Ruby from spider girl over there."

"You got it boss," Mercury, in his joyous state, called out as the spirit used his speed magic to quickly appear behind. Orion quickly wrapped the other way of Elise, katana's in hand to cut up her potential webs. Lucifer immediately tried to fly over to Elise's aid. but a water disc flew out into his pathway. "Don't get too attached to Orion, you got to deal with me now," Ara said smugly, her hands and palm in position to excrete another spell. "Ice-Make: Death Scythe." An ice scythe, appeared in Ara's right arm as she began charging in a swinging away at the Take-Over mage.

In the meanwhile, Elise having the spirit coming in from the left and Orion coming in from the right. Before the duo could get to Elise, gravity suddenly got heavier in a small radius around Elise and both summoner and spirit immediately got smashed to the ground. not able to get up due to the intensity of the gravity. Zora, a few meters away, had her arms out and palms down, keeping the pressure of the gravity.

"Dark Dragon's Tail Strike," Barry called out from behind Zora, promptly kicking her on the side, sending the deaf mage away and releasing the gravity hold on Orion and Mercury. Unfortunately for the two, Elise had promptly made her escape thanks to Zora and was already beside the Gravity Mage to help her out.

—-Fairy Tail—-
“Huh what was that seaweed,” Nashi asked out loud towards Grey as she casually bonked two lower class mages’ heads together, knocking them out. “Sorry, I couldn’t hear you over all my defeated mage’s groans.” Nashi snarkily replied, “Which, by the way, is more than you.”

“Can you guys shut up,” Lucas peeped up, emphasizing ‘shut up’ more than ever. He brushed his hand through his blonde locks with a huge huff, tired of the preliminaries already. “You guys can compete for more defeats, when we actually pass the preliminaries. Right now, just find the exit somewhere since we got both the Ruby and Sapphire.” The older Heartfillia sibling informed, gesturing to the Ruby in his hand and the Sapphire in Aspen’s.

“Not to mention Janine split off with us from somewhere. We have to find the exit and finish together.” Lucas at this point felt kind of like a chaperone. Being second oldest behind Janine in the team, and the latter disappeared somewhere, the situation was subtly stressing him out.

—-Blue Pegasus—-
“I can try to scout out for other teams to snag their gems,” Phantasia responded. “However, I’m only able to phase myself only, not the rest of the team.” The woman crossed her arms to conjure up what their team should do. “It doesn’t have to be phasing through walls either, I can momentarily ghost out myself as well. But with my magic, we can play around with raiding and sneak attacks.”

Phantasia made her way to the wall once more, preparing for a phasing. “I’ll start scouting now,” the ghost mage exclaimed. “You guys can hold tight for a bit, or make way through the maze and find the exit. I’ll be near you guys, either through a wall, or invisible.”

—-Sabertooth—-
Juleka followed closely behind Anumi and Arden as the latter worked her way melting the apparently closed off pathways of the maze. “Sucks that Akumi couldn’t join us for the preliminaries,” Juleka said. “He could’ve probably sensed some things with his Airspace mojo or whatever.”

Anumi won the mini argument and led the team down the singular, but suspicious pathway. “I say we face head on to whatever comes,” Juleka claimed, smashing her fist to her palm. "Sabertooth isn't to be underestimated after all."